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Hot off the heels of the Aston Martin AMR26 B-spec debuting, the upgraded Honda engine has roared into life on the track.
Carlos Sainz says Williams are âfurther away from the top than we thoughtâ in 2026, after expecting the teamâs early focus on the new regulations to at least maintain its 2025 level. Sainz said: "Obviously, going into 2026, I expected, if anything, with more time to develop the 2026 car and a new set of regulations, that we could potentially either stay where we were or make a small step forward. Yet time has proven to me that it has obviously been the opposite, or the other way around, and that as a team we are further away from the top than we thought we were at the end of 2025."
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says the teamâs experimental ârotating rear wingâ has been signed off after being evaluated in Friday practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix, although McLaren opted against racing the design at the Hungaroring. Stella said: "It's been a positive sign-off of this concept, and we look forward now to introducing this concept, at some future events. It was important for us to acquire data via track side because you would have never relied on a wind tunnel only for such a delicate project."
Flavio Briatore says Fernando Alonso is âquite happyâ at Aston Martin amid reports linking the two-time world champion with a surprise return to Alpine. Briatore said: "Fernando is driving for Aston Martin. It looks like Aston Martin has made a good step compared to before [with its Hungary upgrades], and he is quite happy in Aston Martin. For the moment, there is nothing to say about that. He is an Aston Martin driver, and until the end of the season, he is an Aston Martin driver."
Ollie Bearman said it was âreally painfulâ to see Haas being caught by Aston Martin at the Hungarian Grand Prix, after Aston Martin brought a significant upgrade package. Bearman said: "It's really painful. It shows that we're really fighting and struggling at the moment. But at the same time, it's probably the track that suits them the most with the shortest straight, so I don't think it will remain like that forever. But it's still a reminder for us that we need to up our game."
Franco Colapinto says Aston Martin have become âdefinitely a lot quickerâ than Alpine in the corners after introducing an upgrade package at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Colapinto said: "They look really strong in the corners. On the straights they are really slow and they are losing a lot of lap time, but in the corners they are definitely a lot quicker than us. It shows that we can make a big step, and hopefully with our upgrades in Zandvoort comes a big step."
Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali says ânew fansâ are not interested in seeing throttle and brake data on TV broadcasts, after some recent race weekends did not show the usual car information such as battery use. Domenicali said: "No one is interested in how you drive your car. I had an interesting discussion with George Lucas in Hungary, and he was giving me an incredible view on how the new fans are watching F1. They are fascinated by the fact that there is a lot of action. [They are] not interested in the angle of throttle, or the percentage of brake pressure on how you can overtake a driver."
Haas driver Ollie Bearman says he does not want to spend years waiting for a Ferrari race seat and would take a World Championship opportunity elsewhere if it came up. Bearman said: "Of course, I don't want to be sitting around for three, four, five years waiting for a seat to become available because there's no guarantees, and then you can be wasting your best years. My ultimate goal is maybe a bit selfish, and that's okay because that's the reason I'm here, and that's because I want to be fighting for World Championships, so if I can have that opportunity wherever, I will take it."
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says fans have had an extremely positive reaction to the racing in 2026, arguing they are focused on the on-track action rather than technical debates about âclippingâ under the new power units. Domenicali said: "There is a lot of action on the track. People are loving it. They are focused on what is happening on the track. They don't understand our technology, definition of 'clipping', or whatever it is, because it's too technical for the wider base that we have."
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies says the team cannot expect to keep developing its car at the same pace in the second half of the season because of Formula 1âs $215m budget cap. Mekies said: "We have brought a huge amount of development to the car between race one and here, in order to try to as soon as possible correct the large deficit we initially had. And it's probably difficult to imagine that we will continue at that rhythm. But we nonetheless need to see what is the best way to try and close these last three tenths."
Kimi Antonelli is being sued for millions by former manager Giovanni Minardi, who claims he is owed unpaid compensation linked to their management agreement before Antonelliâs F1 debut. Minardi has lodged a civil lawsuit in the Bologna court ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, with the dispute said to have been running for almost a year and no settlement close.
Isack Hadjar said the 2026 Formula 1 rules mean âenergy-richâ circuits such as the Hungaroring deliver âclassic racingâ, while âenergy-starvedâ tracks like Spa-Francorchamps can be among the worst to drive. Hadjar said: "It feels good to reach your top speed at the end of the straight. Back to classic racing. Itâs a bit sad that now you are ranking the good tracks as high energy tracks. Thatâs how we rank the tracks now. You know, Spa is one of the best tracks, but it was one of the worst to drive."
Fernando Alonso said Aston Martin and Honda still have âa long way to goâ before they can count themselves as contenders, despite the team bringing an extensive chassis upgrade to the Hungarian Grand Prix. Alonso said: "We are one team. We work together. It's a long way to go. We understand that, we are aware of that, but this hopefully is the first step, and both factories are gaining confidence and trust in what they do, so that that probably will be more important than anything else for the next few months."
Lando Norris says McLaren have not yet âfully clickedâ with their understanding of their 2026 car, but he is excited by its untapped potential after the teamâs latest upgrade package helped him win the Hungarian Grand Prix. Norris said: "We don't feel like we have fully clicked with our understanding of this car just yet, but even before our latest upgrade package helped us to secure the win in Hungary, we had already secured some good results. We know from the past few years what it is like when you do understand the car and what happens when we can maximise the package. We don't feel like we have gotten close to that potential yet, so we are excited to really try and understand it completely, which is when we'll be able to maximise things."
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says Lewis Hamiltonâs recent run of five-second penalties across the British, Belgian and Hungarian Grands Prix cannot all be treated in the same way. Vasseur said: "It is difficult to put all the penalties into the same basket. For me, the incident with Russell was a racing incident, and if he had to do it again, I would ask him to do exactly the same because he can't go on the kerb. The limit was 80kph, and the FIA agreed 80.5, and we did 80.6... and we took the penalty."
Toto Wolff says he will not allow any Mercedes title fight between George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli to descend into the kind of rivalry the team had when Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg battled for championships, and the team principal warned he would be prepared to drop a driver rather than let internal conflict fester. Toto Wolff said: "I will not allow it. That's never going to happen to me again."
Hondaâs new-specification power unit has run on-track for the first time in Aston Martinâs AMR26 during a filming day at the Hungaroring, ahead of its planned race debut at the Dutch Grand Prix. Honda had outlined the plan in Hungary, with trackside general manager Shintaro Orihara saying: âWe will now take the important step of introducing our new-spec power unit in the Netherlands.â A Honda spokesperson then confirmed to F1.com on Wednesday that the new engine had completed its first running.
Alpineâs Franco Colapinto, Audiâs Gabriel Bortoleto and Aston Martin third driver Jak Crawford ran at the Hungaroring in a Pirelli tyre test focused on 2027 compound development. The trio completed screening and long runs on C3 options, with Colapinto and Bortoleto also evaluating C4 and C5 variants via qualifying simulations and longer stints. Bortoleto logged the most laps on Tuesday (141) but Colapinto set the quickest time, a 1m20.371s, from 128 laps; Crawford did 136 laps and a best of 1m24.598s. Colapinto and Bortoleto continue testing today.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says drivers are entitled to criticise the 2026 regulations, but insists their comments should be constructive. Domenicali said: "We are not here to put the tape on the mouth of anyone. The beauty of our sport is that everyone can have an opinion, but the opinion is an opinion. There is someone that has the duty to have a line. There are certain drivers that prefer, of course, certain things. I think that in the process we have highlighted the need to be constructive in that respect."
Stefano Domenicali says the 2026 Formula 1 season has become âvery, very fascinatingâ, rejecting early predictions that Mercedes would dominate under the new technical regulations and insisting there is still plenty to play for in the second half of the championship. Domenicali said: "The championship is becoming very, very fascinating. There is a lot of action on the track. People are loving it. I remember very well at the beginning of the year, some were saying, 'The championship is already finished, we'll have a Mercedes dominating the season, it's game over'. Actually, it's not the truth â there are still a lot of things that will happen up to the end of the year."
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